Murderous tale set for venues in and around Bury St Edmunds

Bury Theatre Workshop’s new play, The Drowning Girls, takes a fresh look at one of the most notorious criminal episodes in UK history.

Based on true events the drama tells the story of George Smith, who made his living by wooing vulnerable women and then stealing their worldly goods.

Initially he bigamously married at least eight women in succession - and having taken what he wanted from them, abandoned them. However, Smith then realised that it would be even more lucrative to not only marry them, but then take out life insurance on each wife, and then drown them in the bath in a staged ‘accident’ - so that he could inherit their wealth.

Between 1912 and 1914, Smith carried out his deadly plan three times before being caught. The legal case was a landmark in forensic investigation of its day, and became known as the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murders.

The Drowning Girls tells the story from the point of view of Smith’s last three victims, who befriend one another and exchange notes in the afterlife.

Performances take place at the Unitarian Meeting House in Bury St Edmunds on March 31 and April 1, followed by Ixworth Village Hall on April 7-8, and finally at Honington and Sapiston Village Hall on April 14.

Tickets are £9 and are available from www.burytheatreworkshop.org.uk or can be bought on the door.

The Bury St Edmunds Women’s Refuge will be providing information and support at each performance venue.

Bury Theatre Workshop is pleased to be supporting their work, to raise awareness of the work that they undertake.

The Women’s Refuge is currently fund raising towards their project to open a new support centre in Bury St Edmunds.

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